The story: a decade of handbuilt pedals
The Thorpe family, Adrian, Georgia and Oppie, started the company in 2014 and have grown it since. Everything is built by hand at the HQ in Farthinghoe, with a small team plus a couple of part-time employees, and the boards use all through-hole construction at the moment1. Adrian Thorpe's own route into building began with DIY pedal kits from a company called Build Your Own Clone3.
The company marked ten years in business with limited "Birthday Cake" editions of its pedals, the last of which closed out the anniversary celebrations4. To celebrate the same milestone, its 10th year in business, the Warthog received a makeover5.
ThorpyFX has also partnered with Victory to repackage the amp maker's revered tube amp tones into an all-new V1 stompbox series6. The collaboration drew on Adrian Thorpe's design work at ThorpyFX.
Known for overdrive, fuzz and recessed-knob enclosures
Adrian Thorpe's first units were overdrives and fuzz, though the line has since diversified1. The current range spans most of the classic gain and utility types:
| Type | ThorpyFX pedals |
|---|---|
| Overdrive | The Bunker, Electric Lightning, Gunshot |
| Fuzz | EAO, Field Marshal |
| Distortion | Warthog |
| Tremolo | Six Zero fuzz/trem, Chain Home |
| Compressor | Fat General |
| Flanger | [Camoflange |
The Gunshot is an overdrive pedal789, the EAO a fuzz10, and the Hanami a germanium fuzz789. Adrian Thorpe's first units were overdrives and fuzz, though he has since diversified the line1, which now spans a tremolo, a compressor, an EQ, a boost, a chorus, and a flanger/phaser in development1.
The enclosures are the company's signature. As Adrian Thorpe explained:
"With ours, you cannot tread on the knobs because they are hidden. When you put your foot on top of the pedal, the knobs..."
The military-themed artwork is Thorpe's own, and the pedals carry top-mounted jacks to save board space1. His design priorities are practical ones:
"I try to make it so all my pedals are consistent, they sound the same between pedal to pedal, they have low noise, they..."
On the question of clones, Thorpe is direct: the company tends not to make straight-up clones, though pedals such as the Veteran, a dual-effect pedal, are based on two vintage circuits111. The company also sells The Fuzz Remains, a DIY guitar pedal kit, with a ThorpyFX-built version offered in a Thorpy enclosure3.
Current ThorpyFX pedals have no battery compartments. Adrian Thorpe has said the company used to fit them but stopped, calling it a waste1. The exception is the EAO PINK version, which is a battery-only pedal10.
Founder Adrian Thorpe MBE
ThorpyFX is the work of Adrian Thorpe MBE, described by Victory Amps as an award winning pedal builder2. His background is unusual for the pedal world: guitar.com's review of the Chain Home notes "Adrian Thorpe's experience in bomb disposal for the British Army"12. That history feeds directly into the company's military naming and artwork, and into the Chain Home tremolo, the first pedal in the Reimagined Series of retro-inspired designs12.
Artists: Josh Smith
ThorpyFX's artist roster includes Josh Smith, listed as a solo artist and as Joshua and the Bandits13. Smith also has a collaboration with J. Rockett Audio Designs, the Josh Smith Dual Trem tremolo pedal14.
Manuals and support
ThorpyFX publishes PDF manuals for its pedals, linked from the product pages and from RockBoard's PedalPedia listings151116:
- Fat General MKII manual17
- The Dane MKII manual15
- Electric Lightning manual11
- Veteran V2 [Si] manual16
- Peacekeeper V2 manual18
The company also sells Barefoot Buttons, footswitch topper buttons for effects pedals, in multiple colors and two sizes, V1 and V219. Buyers unsure which size fits a pedal can email ThorpyFX with the pedal the button is intended for and get sizing advice20.
The range (62)
News
Questions
Where are ThorpyFX pedals made?
ThorpyFX pedals are built by hand at the company's headquarters in Farthinghoe, Northamptonshire, in the UK. The company was started in 2014 by the Thorpe family, Adrian, Georgia and Oppie, and has grown since, with a small team plus a couple of part-time employees helping create the pedals.
Do ThorpyFX pedals take batteries?
Current ThorpyFX pedals do not have battery compartments. Adrian Thorpe has said the company used to fit them but stopped, calling it a waste. One exception exists: the EAO PINK version is a battery-only pedal. Early models such as the Chain Home could run from a 9-volt battery, though one was not supplied.
Are ThorpyFX pedals analog?
Yes. Adrian Thorpe designs and builds analog pedals, and the company's products are described as sensitive analog devices with a wide dynamic range that respond to pick attack and volume control. Models including the Six Zero, Have Blue, Electric Lightning, Fat General, Warthog MKI and The Dane MKII are all listed as analog circuits.
Does ThorpyFX make clones?
No. Adrian Thorpe has said the company tends not to make straight-up clones, though some pedals draw on vintage circuits: the Veteran, for example, is based on two vintage circuits combined into one dual-effect pedal. Thorpe himself started out building DIY pedal kits from Build Your Own Clone.
What is the ThorpyFX Chain Home based on?
The Chain Home tremolo was the first pedal in ThorpyFX's Reimagined Series, a range of retro-inspired designs. The name and the company's military-themed artwork connect to founder Adrian Thorpe's experience in bomb disposal for the British Army.
Were ThorpyFX pedals really blown up?
Yes. In October 2022 Adrian Thorpe joined explosives specialist Alford Technologies and guitarist Chris Buck in a Six String Tales video that detonated redundant ThorpyFX enclosures, including The Bunker and The Peacekeeper. The conclusion was that pretty much no pedals are bombproof.
Where can I find ThorpyFX manuals?
ThorpyFX publishes free PDF manuals for its pedals, linked from the product pages and from RockBoard's PedalPedia listings. Manuals are available for pedals including the Fat General MKII, The Dane MKII, Electric Lightning, Veteran V2 [Si] and Peacekeeper V2.
Sources (20)
- Thorpy FX, Stompbox Book (stompboxbook.com), 2020-04-12
- V1 Kraken, Victory Amps (www.victoryamps.com), 2026-04-20
- The FUZZ REMAINS, ThorpyFX
- FAT GENERAL MAUD Birthday Cake Edition, ThorpyFX
- WARTHOG | Distortion, ThorpyFX
- Are ThorpyFX pedals actually bombproof? Watch an explosives team put it to the test, Guitar World, 2022-10-20
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2020-05-19
- EAO | Fuzz, ThorpyFX
- “We were able to up the gain and the volume on tap way past the levels we would normally get”: ThorpyFX's Hanami fuzz pedal is packing NOS germanium, dynamic, and blooming lovely, MusicRadar, 2025-05-07
- EAO PINK version, ThorpyFX
- Electric Lightning by ThorpyFX, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- ThorpyFX Chain Home Tremolo Review, guitar.com, 2017-03-29
- Artists, thorpyfx.com
- Josh Smith Dual Trem by J. Rockett Audio Designs, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- THE DANE MKII by ThorpyFX, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Veteran V2 Si by ThorpyFX, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- The FAT GENERAL, ThorpyFx
- Peacekeeper V2 by ThorpyFX, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- ThorpyFx Barefoot buttons, ThorpyFx
- Mini Light Blue Barefoot Button V1, ThorpyFX